refrain, forbear
(verb) resist doing something; “He refrained from hitting him back”; “she could not forbear weeping”
forbear, hold back
(verb) refrain from doing; “she forbore a snicker”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
forbore
simple past tense of forbear
Source: Wiktionary
For*bore",
Definition: imp. of Forbear.
For*bear", n. Etym: [See Fore, and Bear to produce.]
Definition: An ancestor; a forefather; -- usually in the plural. [Scot.] "Your forbears of old." Sir W. Scott.
For*bear", v. i. [imp. Forbore (Forbare (, [Obs.]); p. p. Forborne; p. pr. & vb. n. Forbearing.] Etym: [OE. forberen, AS. forberan; pref. for- + beran to bear. See Bear to support.]
1. To refrain from proceeding; to pause; to delay. Shall I go against Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall I forbear 1 Kinds xxii. 6.
2. To refuse; to decline; to give no heed. Thou shalt speak my words unto them, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear. Ezek. ii. 7.
3. To control one's self when provoked. The kindest and the happiest pair Will find occasion to forbear. Cowper. Both bear and forbear. Old Proverb.
For*bear", v. t.
1. To keep away from; to avoid; to abstain from; to give up; as, to forbear the use of a word of doubdtful propriety. But let me that plunder forbear. Shenstone. The King In open battle or the tilting field Forbore his own advantage. Tennyson.
2. To treat with consideration or indulgence. Forbearing one another in love. Eph. iv. 2.
3. To cease from bearing. [Obs.] Whenas my womb her burden would forbear. Spenser.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
12 June 2025
(noun) a decrease in the density of something; “a sound wave causes periodic rarefactions in its medium”
The Boston Tea Party helped popularize coffee in America. The hefty tea tax imposed on the colonies in 1773 resulted in America switching from tea to coffee. In the lead up to the Revolutionary War, it became patriotic to sip java instead of tea. The Civil War made the drink more pervasive. Coffee helped energize tired troops, and drinking it became an expression of freedom.
